Tennis News Today: Carlos Alcaraz's effort to postpone Rafael Nadal's retirement goes in vain; Serena Williams & husband Alexis Ohanian banter over daughters' eating habits
Carlos Alcaraz failed in his attempt to postpone Rafael Nadal's farewell as Spain were knocked out of the Davis Cup in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova shared emotional messages for the Spaniard. Also, Nick Kyrgios posted a new Grand Slam format idea by citing examples of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
In other news, Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams shared a laugh while discussing their eating habits, while Danielle Collins shared a hilarious story about pinning her failed date on a zodiac sign.
On that note, here are today's top tennis news:
Carlos Alcaraz's efforts go in vain as Spain lose to Netherlands at the Davis Cup
Carlos Alcaraz's hopes of postponing Rafael Nadal's retirement could not be fruitful as the Netherlands defeated Spain at the Davis Cup. Alcaraz had to win both his remaining matches to keep Spain's hopes in the tournament alive, but he could only manage a win in his singles match while losing in doubles.
Initially, Rafael Nadal lost his opening match 4-6, 4-6 to Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets. Alcaraz however, kept Spanish hopes alive by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(0), 6-3 in the second match of the tie. The young Spaniard claimed that he 'did it for Rafa' after his singles win.
Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers teamed up for the decisive doubles tie, where they were up against Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp, and the Dutch pair won 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to knock Spain out of Davis Cup 2024.
Read more: "I did it for Rafael Nadal" - Carlos Alcaraz makes his feelings known after keeping Spain's chances alive at Davis Cup Finals
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova share heartfelt messages for Rafael Nadal
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova both shared emotional messages for the retiring Rafael Nadal. The two former World No. 1s wore the specially customized Rafael Nadal t-shirts by Nike.
In a video posted on her Instagram account, Serena Williams could be seen wearing the Rafael Nadal farewell t-shirt and his iconic headband with his customized sign. The American star congratulated the Spaniard on a remarkable career.
"Congratulations on a career that most wont dare to dream of. I feel so fortunate to have been able to play when you were playing and being Great. You inspired me to be better, to play harder, for fight, to never give up, and to win more," Williams wrote.
Maria Sharapova also shared a story on her Instagram congratulating Nadal on his career. The Russian ace reshared a story by Nike on her Instagram story before paying tribute to the Spanish star.
"No one like you @rafaelnadal. I have so much respect for your grit, your love of the 'fight', and the pure class with which you showed up, even on a tough day," Sharapova wrote.
Read more: "Getting choked up" - Serena Williams & Maria Sharapova make their feelings known on Rafael Nadal nearing retirement with Davis Cup Finals last dance
Nick Kyrgios shares his idea to transform tennis
Nick Kyrgios has shared his idea of transforming tennis. The Australian star believes the men's matching at the Grand Slams should be best-of-three until the quarter-finals.
Kyrgios used Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic as examples while explaining his point. The Aussie believes that best-of-three matches would be tougher for established players like Alcaraz and Djokovic and would increase the chances of an upset.
"How many times have we seen one of the best players in the draw lose the first set and you're just like, 'He's going to come back and win it.' It's actually boring. Where like if Novak goes down a set or even when Li Tu, he won a set against Alcaraz early on, that was one set all and then it's one set, that could change Li's entire career. He beats Alcaraz on center court and you become a name," Nick Kyrgios said.
Read more: Nick Kyrgios uses Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz as examples to suggest radical change for Grand Slams' best-of-five-sets format
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian share a hilarious story while discussing their eating habits
Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian shared a laugh while discussing their eating habits. The power couple sat down for a chat on Lingo's 'Spike Sessions' and discussed a variety of topics including food and their daughters.
Williams asked Ohanian about her favorite late-night snack. The American businessman quickly guessed ramen but Williams said it was gelato. While discussing further the couple both agreed that Ohanian steals food of their daughters plate.
"Who’s more likely to eat food off of our kids' plates?" Serena Williams asked.
"It’s called the ‘Papa Tax’'. You don’t know about it, now you do. Papa pays for the food, he gets to snack as much as he wants. The job of the Papa is to provide and to snack off kids’ plates. We had learned that at an early age," Ohanian joked.
Read more: "She never tasted anything that good" - Serena Williams, husband Alexis Ohanian talk gelatos and eating food off of daughters Olympia, Adira's plates
Danielle Collins shares a story about her hilarious date
Danielle Collins shared a funny story about pinning a failed date on a zodiac sign. The American star is currently competing at the Billie Jean King Cup final in Malaga for Team USA.
Collins shared her hilarious dating story on a Youtube channel named 'What a Vlog' which is operated by Daria Kasatkina. The American shared that she pinned one of her failed date son zodiac.
Collins revealed that she went on a date with a man and then later as she was trying to tell him that their date didn't work out, she turned to zodiac. The WTA star said that their 'stars didn't align' before breaking up with him.
"He called me and he got me on the phone and I was like, 'okay, I better talk to him.' So, I talked to him about it and I'm like, 'look', and he's just like, 'Let's just go for another dinner and see[...]' I said, 'no, I'm traveling. I've got a lot to come on and it's just not gonna work. And the other reason it's not gonna work is because I'm a Sagittarius and you are a Taurus and our compatibility just doesn't work. Like, it's just like the stars aren't aligned.'" Collins said.
Read more: "It just didn't work out and he was messaging me" - Danielle Collins discloses amusingly pinning failed date on zodiac sign